Free flood warnings are to be sent automatically to users of mobile phone network Three.

Around 350,0000 customers living in areas at high risk of flooding will be receiving a text message from the Environment Agency this week, letting them know they have been automatically registered for free flood warnings.

This will include a link to let them know what they should do if they receive a flood warning, plus the option to opt out.

Once registered, people will receive a message directly to their mobile if a flood warning is issued for their area in the future, giving them vital time to prepare.

Ben Johnstone, area flood risk manager at the Environment Agency, said: “Being registered for flood warnings can give people advance notice of flooding and some crucial time to prepare. If you get the text, it is because you live in an area at risk of flooding, so we would urge people to stay registered to the service and learn what to do if you receive a warning.”

The authority has been automatically adding those living in high flood risk areas to the warning service since 2010, beginning with BT landlines and moving on to mobile phones in 2014. Customers with EE and O2 have already been registered, with plans to add customers on Vodafone in due course.

People who are not on the Three network can still receive free flood warnings by visiting flood-warning-information.service.gov.uk/plan-ahead-for-flooding to check if your home is at risk of flooding and to sign up.